Children First

For over fifty years the United Nation’s Children’s Fund has been contributing its international experience and resources to programmes and projects for children in Turkey. In partnership with government, civil society, the private sector, children, their families and communities, UNICEF continues to help build a society where every child benefits from good health care, education, equality and protection.

Working with and for children involves four priority areas for UNICEF in Turkey:

helping to lay the foundation of a sustainable and just society by supporting quality education for girls as well as boys;

giving children the best start in life through early childhood care and development and equipping their parents and caregivers with positive child rearing practices;

promoting the protection and participation of children and adolescents in all aspects of family and community life;

delivering effective programmes of advocacy, information and social policy to help leverage resources and realise children’s and women’s rights.

Some of Turkey’s successes for children and their families include:

infant mortality rates reduced from 43 to 29 per thousand live births and under five mortality rates reduced from 52 to 37 per thousand;

an overall increase in enrolment in primary education and a 35 per cent reduction in the number of girls who are out of school;

polio–free certification by the European Regional Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication.

Building on successes such as these, UNICEF will continue to support Turkey’s national priorities in child protection, health, education and development.

Read more inside our catalogue about our current programmes and projects in Turkey — and see how you can help!

Since UNICEF depends entirely on voluntary contributions to fund our efforts to build a world fit for children, the goodwill and financial support of private individuals and organisations is crucial to our continued success.

Use the contents menu to browse Children First online or download the complete document in pdf format. [ZIP 1.8MB] Alternatively, individual brochures may be downloaded in pdf format from the relevant pages.